Countdown to Education

On November 1, we launched our second holiday fundraising campaign to increase the number of Back 2 School kits we distribute during the season of giving. The campaign, which will run through the end of the year was featured in an interview on Tasty Trade Chicago by CEO Matthew Kurtzman.

The holiday season has become a busier time of the year for the organization and our goal is to distribute 5,000 kits to 5,000 underserved children.

One of the many benefits of giving out kits during this time of year is that parents who can’t afford Christmas gifts can use our kit as a gift to go under the tree.

With additional donations, Back 2 School Illinois hopes to add more kits to the end of year distributions. Donating $15 puts a signature Back 2 School kit in the hands of a child in need. Help us reach our goal of 5,000 kits and donate today: www.b2si.org/holiday

A little donation can make a big difference:

$15: Provides school supply kit to 1 Illinois student for the new year$30: Provides school supply kits to 2 Illinois students for the new year$75: Provides school supply kits to 5 Illinois students for the new year$120: Provides school supply kits to 8 Illinois students for the new year$300: Provides school supply kits to 20 Illinois students for the new year

150 Back 2 School Kits Assembled

On October 9, the Chicago UK Alumni Association participated in one of our Build-A-Kit events at trendy new nightspot Eleven Eleven, located at 1111 W. Lake Street in the West Loop. Wildcat Alumni socialized over drinks and light bites as they assembled 150 of our signature Back 2 School kits.

The event was part of the alumni association’s “Cats for a Cause National Service Week.” UK alumni partnered with the Nazr Mohammed Foundation to assemble the kits, which were later given to students at Reavis Elementary Math & Science Specialty School in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood. A highlight of the night was when the group was treated to a visit from Nazr Mohammed himself, a former UK player and 18-year NBA veteran.

This Build-A-Kit event represents one of many ways we are seeing increasing support from colleges. Over the summer, we had a group of University of Illinois alumni come together to hold an event, and on December 1, students from Loyola University Nursing School will participate in their own Build-A-Kit event as well.

Dewitt Clinton Elementary and Frazier Preparatory Academy

On Wednesday, September 5, we surprised the students at Dewitt Clinton Elementary in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, thanks to a caring 8th grade math teacher, Jason Zak. As a result of Mr. Zak’s application, including a powerful essay on the importance of what it would mean for his school to win, more than 1,100 of our signature Back 2 School kits were given out that day, one to each and every student. According to Mr. Zak, most of the students’ parents can’t afford to buy school supplies, leaving them unprepared for a successful year in school.

The distribution event took place outside on the playground, as the auditorium was under renovation—another gift to the students that they soon would be able to enjoy. Principal Maureen Delgado, Assistant Principal Chor Ng, and Mr. Zak, as well as their Alderman Patrick J. O’Connor, all spoke to the students. Our CEO Matthew Kurtzman also addressed the group before the real fun began: handing out the Back 2 School kits to a lot of happy children.

Our second lucky winner was Frazier Preparatory Academy of the North Lawndale neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. Their school was nominated by physical education teacher and Sports Director Eric Clark, a man full of passion to help children in the community get a better education. His essay touched on the school’s unique approach and mission, which is “to bring to the forefront for our scholars the most important aspects of education, utility and culture.” The Back 2 School kits were handed out during an assembly, which included some inspirational comments by Principal Quincy Jones, Mr. Clark, and Alderman Michael Scott. Prior to the kits being handed out, the students joined in the recitation of the school anthem, which spells out the guiding principles for all Frazier students.

10,000 Kits Distributed

On Wednesday, August 8, we held our annual “BIG” Distribution & Activity Day Event at the Broadway Armory Park. Over 70 volunteers came out to help facilitate the day as 300+ children (from the Vietnamese Association of Illinois, Irving Park YMCA, McGaw YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago, Camp of Dreams, and Centro Romero) rotated through a series of six fun and educational activities and received one of our Back 2 School kits. The activities included aerobics taught by the Chicago Park District, giant board games led by the David L. Hoyt Education Foundation, arts & crafts hosted by Kits for Kidz, science & chemical experiments presented by students from Wright College, financial literacy taught by Republic Bank, and an interactive exotic animal show.

We also gave away 10,000 Back 2 School kits to underserved Illinois students. The kits were brought in on four semi-trucks, sorted, and then picked up by staff from 50 area YMCAs to be brought back to their respective locations for distribution to kids before the start of school.

We would like to say thank you to all of the volunteers who came out to make the event run so flawlessly, as the event would not be possible without their help. A big thank you also goes out to the dozens of sponsors including Community Currency Exchange Association of Illinois, Kits for Kidz, MB Financial Bank, Western Union Foundation, Community Financial Services Centers, Electronic License Service, NBC/Comcast/Universal, Republic Bank, CIBC, and CA Ventures.

We were very fortunate to have 5 of the local news stations report on the event as well as one radio station.

Over $35,000 Raised and Still Counting!

On June 21, seven dedicated, hard-core golfers arrived at the Bull Valley Golf Club in Woodstock for their “Longest Day of Golf” outing. Despite a day-long downpour, the seven, playing to raise money for Back 2 School Illinois, were not going to let it rain on their parade nor diminish their generosity.

Past “Longest Days of Golf” have raised more than $750,000 for a variety of charities. These days they focus on smaller nonprofits where the dollars have a greater impact. We were thrilled that this year they chose to give the money to Back 2 School Illinois! To date over $35,000 has been raised and donations are still being made.

We couldn’t be more grateful! A big thanks to the “Magnificent Seven” - Steve Brown, Glen Krandel, Paul Lopata, Ben Kopin, David Brown, Steve Goldsher and Craig Krandel for golfing through the stormy weather and raising money for our organization.

Funds Raised To Benefit B2SI

In 1994, a number of guys got together to play some golf and raise money for charity. Since “The Longest Day of Golf” launched over a dozen years ago, more than $750,000 has been given to a variety of charities. In the beginning, monies raised through donations went to large charities such as the American Cancer Society. A while back, the founders decided to make a shift and give the money to smaller nonprofits where the funds would have a greater impact.

On June 21, seven golfers will head out at dawn to the Bull Valley Golf Club in Woodstock to play as many holes of golf as they can.

All the proceeds from this year’s event will benefit Back 2 School Illinois! We couldn’t be more excited to be this year’s beneficiaries and how many more Back 2 School kits we will be able to give out as a result of this additional financial support.

Running an education nonprofit that focuses on providing children, particularly ones from low-income households with educational opportunities, our primary program is to provide the basic school supplies kids need for school. I never imagined, that even something more basic, safety in school would become a major issue in this country.

As the list of mass shootings in and around schools continues to mount it is no longer a problem that needs to be addressed long term but one that requires immediate action. While it will take time to implement some changes, there are clearly some changes we can make almost immediately.

Sadly, the children, families, teachers, staff and community members in Parkland, Florida had to first hand feel the effects of this terrible tragedy for something to change. This particular school tragedy feels different. The reaction is different, the number of people that are responding to what happened is large and growing by the day. There is a momentum that is building. The town hall meeting on CNN last week was just one example of how it feels different. It was so powerful and for those of you who watched it, you know what I am saying.

Carpe Diem. This is an opportunity for us, as a society, to rise up and make ourselves better, make ourselves stronger. We have an opportunity to show the world how great the citizenry of the United State can be when faced with real adversity.

While I don’t want to get my hopes up, it is possible that we can not only make great strides to address school safety and safety in our communities overall, but perhaps this movement will help shift the political process. It will get more people to vote. It will remind people that everyone has a voice, and that we need to use it. Maybe we will start to listen, really listen to one another. Maybe this shooting and the 17 lives lost will not be in vain.

Let us use the tremendous courage we’ve seen from the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and those that have stood beside them to inspire us to join the movement for change. Let us all work together to make sure our children can go to school without fear for their lives. Let children focus on learning. Let teachers focus on teaching and providing guidance to them, so that they can grow up to be happy, healthy and contributing members of society.

An Evening of Fun, While Doing Good

On Thursday, February 8, we held a “Notes of Inspiration” Happy Hour at Sidetrack (3349 N Halsted St, Chicago). The purpose of the night was to write notes of encouragement to be included in our signature Back 2 School kits.

These notes are designed to let the children who receive our kits know that someone is out there rooting for them to succeed in school and in life. Sometimes all it takes is a simple, “You can do this!” or “This is going to be your year!” to get these children excited and eager to take on the school year.

During the happy hour, people conversed over cocktails and snacks while writing note after note! There were laughs and selfies, and everyone enjoyed the time together! We featured a raffle drawing where we encouraged people to follow us on social media and use our hashtag, #b2si, when posting pictures to receive tickets. The prizes were from The Chicago Diner, Wood, and Starbucks. We were so pleased with the success of the event and over 250 notes written, that we are going to schedule more “Notes of Inspiration” events, though out the year. So, if you couldn’t join us this time around, there will be plenty of opportunities later in the year, so stay tuned!

Record Number of Scholarships Offered

As 2018 approaches, it’s that time of the year again for our College Scholarship Program to launch. We are excited to announce we will handing out ten $2,500 scholarships to high school seniors. Funding for the scholarships is provided by the Community Currency Exchange Association of Illinois, The Tufano Family, Payline Data, Kits for Kidz and the Hugo Sonnenschein III Charitable Fund. With over 44 million Americans with student loan debt, we are happy to be able to lessen the financial burden with this program.

The application process is very simple and can be accessed Here, and mailed back to our offices at 3959 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60613. Our scholarships go to deserving Illinois high school seniors. If that’s you or someone you know, make sure to apply by April 1, 2018! Winners will also receive two complimentary tickets to our Kickoff Dinner at Galleria Marchetti on Wednesday, August 9, 2018.

Tis the Season For Giving

On November 27, we launched our first official holiday fundraising campaign so that we can increase the number of Back 2 School kits we distribute during the season of giving. The campaign, which runs through the end of the year has already been featured in interviews with CEO Matthew Kurtzman on WBBM-AM and iHeartMedia radio stations, 103.5 KISS FM, 93.9 MYFM and BIG 95.5.

The holiday season is increasingly becoming a time of year when kits are being distributed by the organization. December distribution events include:

One of the many benefits of giving out kits during this time of year is that parents who can’t afford Christmas gifts can use our kits as a gift to go under the tree.

With additional donations, Back 2 School Illinois hopes to add more kits to the end of year distributions. Donating $15 puts a signature Back 2 School kit in the hands of a child in need. To donate visit: www.b2si.org/holiday

A little donation can make a big difference:

$15: Provides school supply kit to 1 Illinois student for the new year$30: Provides school supply kits to 2 Illinois students for the new year$75: Provides school supply kits to 5 Illinois students for the new year$120: Provides school supply kits to 8 Illinois students for the new year$300: Provides school supply kits to 20 Illinois students for the new year